


My Heart, It Beats For You

by Sethrine



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, POV Upgraded Connor | RK900, Surprises, Sweet, mostly - Freeform, promise ring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 20:34:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17794289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sethrine/pseuds/Sethrine
Summary: Nines didn’t understand the intricacies of affection, not at first. You came into his life, however, and he began to learn. His love for you was intense and overwhelming, and everything he never knew he needed until it happened. He planned a surprise for you, but as he has learned, not all relationships follow a set path. It all works out beautifully, in the end.





	My Heart, It Beats For You

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! Have this shmoopy fluffy goodness!!

At first, Nines didn’t understand the intricacies of small affections and tokens of said affection.

For one, such knowledge hadn’t been wired into his programming, having been created to be less responsive to outer emotional stimuli in order to lower his chances of deviancy. He could mimic emotional reactions, sure, but only by playing off what the individual in front of him was expressing, and only enough to get what he needed out of a suspect. He had a goal, then, and empathy did not play a role in it.

Deviancy was, naturally, absolute hell on his processors.

Where once, there was nothing, he suddenly felt everything, a flood of information washing over him in overwhelming emotional impulses that demanded to be acknowledged. It was a new experience, and life held purpose outside of objectives and getting the job done, by any means necessary. It was frightening, and angering, and too much for Nines to handle so suddenly and without warning.

Because of this, he was quick to learn how to keep everything to himself, remaining cool and collected in the face of his peers. There was too much to learn and experience, having practically been reborn within the deviancy coding, and letting on that he was but an infant in a world that had grown and learned over millennia of human interaction would be more than overwhelmingly embarrassing.

For weeks, months, even, he was fine, or as fine as an emotionally constipated android could be.

You came into his life six short months after he became deviant, however, and life suddenly had a whole new mess of meaning-

Which led into the next reason affectionate intricacies had a habit of eluding him, at least for a while.

He understood rationale and logic better than anything, or anyone, else, and in his first approach into his relationship with you, it was one of the things he continued to count on. Nines came to realize rather quickly that an actual relationship didn’t just merit on simple facts or follow step-by-step algorithms.

If anything, you helped him to see such reasoning with a mix of analogies that stuck with him since there utterance:

_“It’s like…like you’re stuck in monochrome, when all around you is a world full of so many colors and facets. You act along flat lines, but everyone else is shaped and continues to branch out. Does that make sense?”_

At first, it didn’t, not quite, but over time, Nines began to see what you were trying to tell him.

In many ways, he had not embraced his deviancy and had elected to remain machine-like in his approach to most things. In a relationship, he couldn’t do that, not without seeming far too distant, despite his growing infatuation with you.

He was exactly as you described – monochromatic, walking a drab line back and forth as if it was his sole purpose in life. All he had to do was branch off the path just once, and the colors would come to him.

And with that daring, hesitant step forward, many things he thought trivial and unnecessary began to make sense just as much as they became confusing.

In hindsight, he understood that each individual was different, and that each person, be it human or android, would require different amounts, as well as different levels, of certain wants and needs. He also understood that there was a time and place to enact these specific wants and needs, usually when together with a significant other, and usually when they felt most comfortable.

Nines recalled the first time he kissed you in public. The look of surprise upon your face and the light flush against your cheeks had delighted him in a way he couldn’t explain…until you shied away from him, nervous and embarrassed as others looked your way.

Apparently, sharing a kiss while you were at work was not an ideal move, something he had taken note of before, but Nines had been overcome with the need to show his appreciation for you. It only made sense for him to express such strong emotional attachment in a way you would both find pleasing and tasteful.

It was a mistake he made only once, and one you had tentatively explained reasoning behind why it wasn’t an ideal moment.

From then on, he began to take note.

He was much more versed in the intricacies of relationships than he was at the very beginning, and with each passing day, he continued to learn more to ensure that he could make your relationship last.

Something Nines had learned over the months was that he was happy with you. He felt more alive than he had ever felt when he was with you. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to ensure your happiness, and the thought alone was both grounding and frightening in its intensity. He was completely serious in his understanding that whatever you wished of him, he would accomplish without any hesitation.

How lucky he was to have your gentle heart, then, because all you ever truly wanted out of him was his own happiness.

His thought process was halted momentarily at the sound of the front door being unlocked. He listened to the movements as the door swung open, identifying your light footfall and the relieved sigh you exuded at finally being home from a long day at work. So focused on your task of winding down, you didn’t even realize he was there until you had already shucked your shoes and placed your coat on one of the hooks by the door.

“Oh! Nines! I didn’t expect you home, already.”

“I had a shorter day then expected,” he answered as you made your way to the couch, where he currently resided.

You were smiling lightly as you leaned toward him, his preconstruction software having already anticipated the move. The touch of your lips followed an instant later, your kiss sweet and chaste – or it would have been, had Nines not followed your departure to make the kiss linger a bit longer. When you finally pulled away, it was with an amused chuckle and an even bigger smile.

“Well, hello to you, too,” you greeted with a bit of sass, of which Nines hummed at in his own amusement.

“How was your day?”

“Well, same ol’, same ol’, nothing really new. Busier, this time of year, but I’ve gotten pretty used to it. You?”

“Nothing new,” he repeated. “Connor would like us to come over next weekend for a movie night, should you find the day apt.”

“Sounds like a plan,” you answered, moving toward the kitchen. “I’ll put it on the calendar, so I don’t forget.”

Nines was quick to stand and follow you from an appropriate distance, knowing you were looking for something to drink. When you opened the fridge, you gave a light gasp, looking to Nines with surprised eyes.

“You’ve been to the store, I see,” you mused, surprised to find everything restocked, as well as a bottle of your favorite wine chilling at the bottom. “Mm, and you plan on getting me wine-drunk? To what do I owe the occasion?”

“No occasion,” Nines answered. “I recalled it was your favorite, and the selection had just been restocked. It will pair nicely with dinner, tonight.”

“Oh?” you queried, of which Nines only answered with a knowing smile. You huffed out a chuckle, shaking your head lightly as you reached for a bottle of water.

“Go ahead and keep your secrets, then,” you playfully quipped, moving toward the dining room.

You paused just short of leaving the kitchen, eyes glued to the display ahead for a long moment. With a furrowed brow, you turned back to look at him, clearly confused just as much as you were surprised.

“Are you sure I’m not missing something, I don’t know… _important_?”

You turned back to glance at the dining room table, moving forward to inspect the bouquet of calla lilies sitting in a beautiful glass vase right in the center. The lilies were colored with pinks and purples, a gorgeous array that you definitely hadn’t been expecting. If anything, you seemed more nervous at finding them there, though it was because you believed you had missed an important date.

“I don’t require a reason to surprise you, do I?” Nines questioned lightly, amused just as he was a tad confused, himself. He was almost sure he’d done things right for what he had planned, yet your own perplexed expression had him worried he had overstepped some sort of unknown boundary.

“Of course not,” you answered him, moving closer to ease him with the gentle stroke of a hand against his cheek. “It’s just…well, the wine, the secret dinner plan, and then the flowers? It’s all wonderful, but it also makes me think there’s something I might have missed. Our one-year anniversary is still a couple of months away, isn’t it?”

“It is,” he said, “but this isn’t a missed occasion, my heart. Rather, perhaps, this is a new one in the making.”

Your brows furrowed a bit more, head tilting just slightly to the side.

He was going to wait until after dinner, as seemed to be customary, but he had learned many months ago that not all relationships relied on custom.

With a gentle smile in place, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. You eyed it quizzically, though he could make out the dilation of your eyes and noted the increased beat of your heart.

“It’s not quite what you may think it is,” he began as he handed the box to you, ensuring your shaking fingers had a good hold of the item before he pulled back. “I wanted this evening to be a surprise that led to a special gift, though I hadn’t anticipated your panic. I feel as if I may have done something wrong.”

“No, no,” you assured, “it’s my fault. I’m sorry. I was worried I had missed something important and hadn’t gotten you a gift. I would have felt horrible for forgetting!”

Your panic began to make sense, then. It was something he would have to plan accordingly, next time. For that moment, he awaited your reaction to the gift he had worked hard on obtaining; it was a piece he had worked closely with the creator of to ensure his exact specifications.

Sensing the shift, your eyes darted down to the gift, fingers moving to open the top of the hinged box. Upon inspecting the jewelry within, your eyes widened considerably, lips falling open in absolute shock. You looked up at him, then back at the gift, and then once more at him before your gaze darted to his temple, where his L.E.D. indicator resided.

You recognized what it was, then.

“I know it’s a bit early for you to fully commit to anything,” Nines began as he reached for the box, gently prying it from your fingers, “but I did some research into other customs and traditions. I found that significant others will, oftentimes, give their partner a promise ring, of which can mean any number of things, depending on the person and the length of the relationship.”

As he spoke, Nines carefully removed the piece of jewelry from the box, revealing the full length of the twinkling chain that held in place a circular pendant. The whole time, your eyes darted between his tender gaze and the beautiful necklace he held, fingers suspending it between the both of you.

“In that regard, perhaps I was a bit literal,” he quipped, “though you have an affinity for necklaces, and I concluded you would be more susceptible to wearing one.”

He reached with his free hand and took hold of one of yours, pulling it between you and maneuvering the circular ring to lay flat against your skin. Within moments, the ring lit up, much to your surprise, circling a vibrant yellow color that was all too familiar to your eyes. Startled, you looked again at Nines, only to notice that his L.E.D. was circling a cool, gentle blue.

“It reacts to you, what you think and feel,” Nines explained. “Quite similar to how my indicator can announce my processing as well as my distress. I am also connected to the pendant, and when you wear it…”

Nines hesitated a moment, unsure if his next words would come across the way he wanted them to. Your gaze was expectant, however, as if you wanted to know exactly what he meant to say.

“When I wear it-?”

“I can feel your heartbeat.”

The room grew quiet, the air vibrating with energy Nines couldn’t quite explain. Your eyes remained glued to his for so long, he worried he had upset you. You blinked after another long moment, however, lashes fluttering as a disbelieving smile lit your face.

“You are such a sap.”

You turned your back to him, a move that was almost alarming until you looked over your shoulder at him in anticipation. He understood and quickly moved into action, maneuvering the necklace over your head and between his fingers until he was able to clasp it around your neck. When it was in place, you turned back to him, straightening the pendant until it was flat against your skin and centered on your chest.

The indicator was a cool, gentle blue.

“Oh,” Nines said, the simple exclamation nearly breathy and just as gentle. His eyes slipped closed for just a brief moment, his system being overtaken by the steady drum of your heart. When he opened his eyes again, it was to the look of pure adoration.

“Oh,” you repeated, eyes glossy and almost teary as a smile lit your face unlike any other. You touched the pendant against your skin almost reverently, pulling it up momentarily, only to find that the color had changed.

“It’s…it’s _pink_ ,” you startled, surprised by a color you had never seen before on any other android’s indicator. “What does that mean?”

Nines couldn’t help but stare in awe, knowing full well what the color symbolized, though he hadn’t expected to see it so soon.

“I love you,” he said, though whether that was the answer to your question or just his proclamation of love for you, it was hard to tell.

As soon as the words left him, you were in his arms, his lips lovingly pressing against yours in a kiss that expressed the absolute adoration and devotion he held for you. You returned the intimate embrace with utmost ease, your heart stuttering away in your chest and within his head.

Nines may not have known the intricacies of affection, at least, not at first, but he was getting the hang of it. He had you, all of you, for as long as you wanted him. There wasn’t much more he could ever want from the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading! Let me know what you think!
> 
> As always, see ya around!


End file.
